Heika’s Take: Dallas continues early-season surge with win in Calgary

The Stars have been dancing on the edge of a razor blade this young season.

Good thing they’re wearing steel-toed skates.

Defenseman Esa Lindell kicked out a potential tying goal in the final minute of the game and Jake Oettinger stopped 43 shots as Dallas held on to beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3, on Wednesday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

The win pushes the Stars to 6-1-1 and is an impressive reward for a team that is eating adversity and spitting out resilience. Coach Pete DeBoer was asked how he balances the success in the standings with the fact the team still is trying to find its game.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” DeBoer said. “We’re working through it, we’re building our game, there’s lessons being learned. At the same time, we’re 6-1-1, so it’s good. These are tough teams and tough buildings and desperate teams we are playing, so we’ll take as many wins as we can get.”

While Oettinger has been the team’s best player and moves to 5-0-1, there is a lot to like behind the numbers. Dallas got goals from three different lines for the second straight game and continues to develop scoring depth. Joe Pavelski had an assist, Roope Hintz had two and Jason Robertson scored a goal on the top line. Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist, and Evgenii Dadonov scored a goal on the second line. And Mason Marchment chipped in a goal off passes from Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin on the third line. This is exactly the scoring balance the Stars talked about when they added Duchene, Craig Smith and Sam Steel as free agents in the summer, and it sure gives Dallas a team that can be dangerous all game long.

In fact, two of the Stars’ goals came late in the period, and that really was the key to keeping a desperate Calgary team behind the 8-ball. Hintz made a fantastic hustling play late in the first with Dallas on the penalty kill. He swiped a puck in the corner, went behind the net, and found Benn for a shorthanded goal that tied the game at the 19:05 mark.

Calgary bounced back and took a 2-1 lead in the second, but the Stars rallied with goals from Robertson, who converted a sweet feed from Hintz as he was backing in to screen the goalie, Dadonov, who was set up beautifully by Nils Lundkvist, and Marchment, who snapped home a quick pass from Duchene at the 19:48 mark of the third.

Each play showed the team’s skill and grit. Each line is trying to find its chemistry, and so far, each is taking positive steps every game. That was important on a night when Radek Faksa was out with an upper body injury.

And while mistakes are still being made, Oettinger has been there to clean things up and calm things down. The 24-year-old backstop now has a 1.95 GAA and .939 save percentage.

“He’s a rock for us. He has been since I’ve been here,” DeBoer said. “You take it for granted and you get used to it when you have a guy like that, but he’s elite. He’s been our best player on almost every night he’s played.”

The Stars handed Calgary five power plays and yielded just their second man advantage goal against this season. They now sit third in the league on the penalty kill at 92.6 percent. It almost bit them late, however, as Calgary scored on a power play goal early in the third period to cut a two-goal deficit to 4-3. Dallas handed out two more power plays, but the killers and Oettinger rose to the occasion. Calgary had a 22-5 advantage in third period shots on goal. Those are the lessons DeBoer was talking about.

Marchment said the team “parked the bus” in the third period, and that’s one way to look at it, but they certainly have to find a better balance in protecting a lead going forward.

They’ll get a chance quickly, as they head to Edmonton to play the Oilers on Thursday. Like the now 2-7-1 Flames, the 2-5-1 Oilers are also expected to play with desperation.

When asked what the key was, DeBoer said, “The first 40 minutes, particularly the second period where I thought we took the game over.”

But the coach added, “We came out for the third and we let them grab momentum by taking three penalties. That was our mistake in the third period. It’s early in the season, but we have to learn from that and be better in that situation.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.